Spring?

What a strange winter this has been. More like early spring than anything. There are days when the sky is so blue I am fooled into thinking I am not in Rochester where the winter gloom and gray can be overpowering. Blue skies and sunshine in January? No snow on the ground? One one or two snowfalls, and minimal amounts? What is going on here?

We normally get around 80 inches in a season. So far this year, we have had maybe 4 inches. Ski resorts are in a quandary. Even the animals don't know what to make of it. Birds are hanging around singing. Ducks and geese pepper the lawns that are still green. Squirrels rampage and chatter mercilessly. Today I noticed that the crocus stalks are rising dark and green through the unfrozen dirt.

This is the weirdest January thaw I have ever experienced. How can you have a thaw when you haven't had a freeze? What on earth will the maple trees do? Syrup is bound to be sappy this year, and maybe in short supply. We shall see. There are still a good ten weeks for winter to get its act together and do something predictable.